DIS execs are in talks about the series returning to Daytona Beach next year

Fans, officials and drivers in the Red Bull Global Rallycross series said that they "hope to return" to Daytona Int'l Speedway next year, but "possibly when temperatures are a little cooler," according to Dinah Voyles Pulver of the Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL. The series' first-ever stop in Florida this past weekend featured "two days of aggressive, exciting racing on a specially designed track." DIS President Joie Chitwood "confirmed that he and Red Bull GRC CEO Colin Dyne "are 'in talks' about the series returning to Daytona Beach next year." Chitwood: "When you bring in a new event, you never know how successful it will be, so I’m really pleased right now." The average attendance at Rallycross events "is usually about 6,000 and 7,000." Chitwood said, "I think we’re pretty close there, between the fans and the paddock. Obviously if we had run it at a different time of year, it would help us." He added that there are "some options available for different dates in Daytona next year" (Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL, 8/24).

HOT HOT HEAT: In Daytona Beach, Ken Willis wrote if it "makes financial sense to those involved -- particularly Daytona’s bottom-liners -- there’s a future" for Rallycross at DIS. If there is a future, "let’s hope it’s either at night or a shoulder-season month when heat-stroke warnings aren’t necessary." This debut "wasn’t exactly a last-minute deal, but close to it, and the unfriendly August-afternoon date was reportedly necessary due to available windows on NBC." Willis: "Not sure if Rallycross is ready to grow at Daytona as a stand-alone show." But it "doesn’t take much imagination to picture Rallycross and Supercross sharing a weekend and at least parts of the same dirt track," creating two "profitable" nights instead of one (Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL, 8/24).